A Denver judge sided Monday with the state's Libertarian party in a move that will now require the Colorado Secretary of State's office, and clerks in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, to recalibrate how they will conduct September recall elections.

The ruling by District Court Judge Robert McGahey makes it nearly impossible for the clerks to allow voters to cast ballots by mail, said Secretary of State Scott Gessler. And, clerks say, taxpayers in El Paso and Pueblo counties, where the recall elections will take place, will now have to incur costs of more than $200,000 to hold the elections.

In a lawsuit filed last week by the Libertarian Party of Colorado, the group alleges the secretary of state's office and county clerks did not give them ample time to gather signatures to get their candidates on the ballot to challenge Democratic Sens. John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo.

Under the Colorado Constitution, a candidate has up to 15 days before the Sept. 10 election date to submit signatures so that their name appears on the ballot.

With Monday's ruling, Libertarians, and any other potential candidates, now have until Aug. 26 to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot — making the tight turnaround impossible for clerks to then print and mail ballots to voters.

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"It cannot be ignored," McGahey said of the state constitution in his oral decision from the bench.

McGahey also called House Bill 1303, a sweeping elections bill passed by Democrats this year that requires all mail-in elections, "flawed" as it conflicts with the constitution.

According to the state statute cited by Gessler's office, a 10-day window from July 18, when the governor set the recall election date, allows candidates to submit 1,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office to have their names appear on the ballot.

Republicans Bernie Herpin and George Rivera submitted enough signatures, and their names are the only ones that currently appear on ballots in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, respectively.

"We're extremely pleased the judge recognized the constitution is the supreme law of the land," said Jeff Orrok, chairman of the Colorado Libertarian Party. "The 26th is fast approaching, and we'll look to get our candidates on the ballot."

Both El Paso County Clerk Wayne Williams and Pueblo County Clerk Gilbert Ortiz said Monday the ruling could possibly disenfranchise some overseas voters.

Hundreds of ballots have already been mailed to overseas voters and printed for residents of El Paso County's Senate District 11 and Pueblo's Senate District 3. Those ballots will now have to be updated with any new candidates who may qualify for the election.

"Are we going to follow our constitution and hurt our democracy in doing so?" asked Ortiz earlier in the day.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats appeared unified in court, saying the 10-day window should have been upheld. With a recall election that voters have to attend in person, lower turnout is likely, which is not beneficial to the Democratic incumbents. And with a third-party candidate now likely to appear on the ballot, Republicans fear a split vote.

Gov. John Hickenlooper set the recall election date on July 18 for Morse and Giron. Both state senators face recalls for their support of tougher gun laws passed by the Democratic-controlled state legislature this year.

"We'll make this election work," Gessler said, noting that a possible appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court could loom. "The bottom line is that we'll make it work."

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